id America makes some very unique cases for the iPhone 4, but their Smartfold Leatherette Portfolio case for the iPad 2 shares lots of features with many iPad 2 cases on the market. The SmartFold Leatherette Portfolio comes in black and has Apple SmartCover-like screen cover that works also as a built-in stand. The SmartFold case is slim and offers magnetic closure.

Design

The SmartFold Leatherette Portfolio for the iPad is a portfolio style case and is made with synthetic leather. The surface of the case has a convincing leather grain texture though the black dye has a lingering chemical odor. The case has a tablet pocket on the right that?s form fitting for the iPad 2, though you will need to push the tablet into the pocket hard to line up the button cutouts. The back of the case has extra soft padding to protect the iPad 2 from bumps, pokes and even low drops; and the edges of the tablet pocket are reinforced to protect the structure of the tablet. The case has soft interior lining that won?t scratch the surface of your iPad 2 when you slide it or out of the tablet pocket. The tablet pocket has a folding tab that keeps the iPad 2 securely in the pocket.

The SmartFold Leatherette Portfolio has a magnetic cover that looks and works similarly to Apple?s SmartCover. The SmartFold case cover has hard inserts to protect the tablet screen, and offers magnetic closure feature: when you close the cover, it shuts off the iPad 2?s screen automatically; and when you open the cover, it wakes up the screen automatically. The case cover comes in vertical sections and you can fold it up to create two viewing angles when you prop up the iPad 2 against it.

The man-made leatherette feels sturdy against scratches and small nicks from keys or other items in your purse or backpack. The case has double stitching that looks solid and not easy to come apart. The id America SmartFold case looks slim and weighs 8 ounces.

Features

The SmartFold Leatherette Portfolio case for the iPad 2 has cutouts for all ports and buttons including the speaker grill and the rear camera. The case has cutouts for the power button, mic and the audio jack on the top of the tablet, and a side cutout that exposes the volume buttons and the screen lock. The case also has a bottom cutout for the 30-pin connector and the speaker grill holes to let the sound through. The cutouts have perfect sizes and shapes, but the case tends to push the iPad 2 out a bit and as a result, the cutouts don?t get perfect alignments with the buttons. So you will need to adjust the position of the iPad 2 in the pocket once in a while to align the cutouts with the buttons.

The cover of the SmartFold Leatherette Portfolio case doubles as a stand. Like Apple?s SmartCover, the cover on the SmartFold case can position the iPad 2 in two viewing angles, one that?s more upright for media watching and one that?s more flat for using the on-screen keyboard. The built-in cover stand is reasonably stable and easy to use.

Conclusion

The SmartFold Leatherette Portfolio case for iPad 2 is a competent portfolio style case that has a built-in stand and magnetic cover feature. The case is nicely built with synthetic leather, reinforced edges and complete with double stitching and padded back. The SmartFold has a soft lining and covers the front display bezel with cutouts for the front camera and the Home button. We like the quality of the case, but the tablet pocket isn?t perfectly aligned for the buttons and ports with the cutouts.